Ironing machine



was, 1927-.

R; HOE

moume IIACHIIB Filed June 2 9 Z INVENTCR 4- Sheets -Sheet 1 ATTORNEY R. no:

IRONING MACHINE Dec. 1927.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 23 1923 .//%A/ 448 4 W w 3 VY 8N K 3 8 MN Y m *IWH r hi v a QM n V .0 V a KN .QN 74/ g a 4% y? I 1 R Q a R n mu v NW 8 A. w w. M .wI\I\/NN M .v

' ATTORNEY Dec. 6, 1927. Y 1,651,599

R. HOE

mohxue manna Filed Junq- 28, 19a: 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR B'Yfi E ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 6, 1921.

mum non, or HYDE PARK, NEW YORK.

momma Macrame.

Application filed. June 2a, was.- Serial no. 548,206.

This invention relates to ironing machines of the type having a heated cylinder mostly below the feed table and a plurality of padded rolls above the same movable into and out of engagement with the cylinder,

and has for its object to enable said rolls in addition to being positively driven when engaged with the cylinder, to be selectively positively driven or idle when out of en 1 gagement, independently of the cylinder, or to be selectively frict-ionally driven by the cylinder. Y

In such machines .a common way to disengage the rolls isto raise them and their .15 driving gears out of engagement, but this causes a clash of the gears when the rolls are lowered into-engagement with thecylinder and also may cause scorching of the padding on the under side of the raised stationary' roll requiring frequent replacement of the padding. If'the driving mechanism for therolls be retained in operation when the rolls are raised, another difliculty is presented in replacing the padding at which time reversal of one roll while unwinding, reverses the other rolls and may loosen their padding.

' Besides avoiding scorching of the padding, this invention facilitates replacement and also enables the padded rolls to be either positively driven and stretch the goods dur ing ironmg, or frictional ly driven "without stretching when delicate fabrics are handledl This invention 'alsoprovides a quick control over the rolls, enabling them to be raised by the foot, thus leaving the operators hand-free to guide the work.

The foregoing and other advanta es are more fully pointed out and hereina ter de scribed and are attained in the specific form of mechanism illustrated which comprises a feed table, an ironing cylinder mostly below the table, two or more padded rolls located above the cylinder and gear'driven,

an Oldham coupling between each roll and its driving gear, means for movably mounting each roll driving car so that the same may be thrown out o operation independently of the position of its padded roll, and a pedal operated cam forra1sing and lowering the padded rolls. 1

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is an end view of an ironing machine embodying this invention, .Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1,

gears 27 and 28, secured to t Fig.' 3' is a section on the line 3 3 of i Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4"4 Fig.

Fig. of Fig. 2, I v

Fig. 6 is a section, on the line 66 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 7 is a detail of the disk 63 inthe Oldham coupling. The ironing machine of this invention 5 is'a section on theline 5 5 comprises a pair of end frames 10 in which is journaled the heated surface, preferably in the form of the ironing cylinder 11, located mostly below the feed table 12 and also below the padded rolls 13, 14 and-15. These padded rolls are adapted to be raised and lowered into and out of cooperation with the ironing cylinder and are capable of being driven or not in either raised or lowcred position. i

The driving mechanism for this machine comprises an electric motor 16, or other appropriate source of power, driving the worm 19 through the belt 17 and pulley 18.- The pulley 22 is an idler for tightening the belt 17 by either gravity or spring means, as is usual in belt driven machinery. From Fig. 3 it will be more clearly seen how the gear 20, keyed or otherwise secured to the shaft 21, is driven by the worm 19. Longitudinally movable inside the shaft 21 is the in ner shaft 24 carryin the clutch part having projections 23 a apted to engage and drive the gear 25 or gear 26, both ofwhich are loose upon the shaft 21. In Fig. 4 it will be seen that the particular type of clutch comprises the projections 23 which are adapted to fit in the grooves 25 in the side of the gear 25, there being similar grooves 26 formed'in the ear 26. The fie shaft 31 by set-screws 29 and 30, or other appropriate means, mesh with the gears and 26, respectively, and drive the heated cylinder 11. The lever 32, pivoted to the frame of the machine at 33 has its end 34 engaging the inner shaft 24 for the purpose of shifting the clutch part having projections 23. A projection 35 on the lever 32 carries a looking pin 36 adapted to engage the frame for securely holding the clutch in neutral,

or either extreme position. The rolls 13, 14 and, 15,, are each provided with driving gears 38, 39 and 40, respectively, which engage 'the gear 27 secured to the cylinder 40 outer end ortionswit the conne'ctmg pieces are not all of the same size, but of such a size that each subsequent roll is 'ven a peripheral speed slightly greater t an its preceding roll in order that the goods passingthrough the machine may be slightly stretched and properly ironed.

The cylinder 11 has a shaft 31 journaled in the end frames 10 in bearings 42, while each padded roll has the ends of its shaft 41 mounted in bearing boxes 43 which-- are ada ted to slide in the radialguideways 44 as t e rolls are raised and lowered from the cylinder. cylinderjare divided, as shown in Fig. 6, and the u per and lower portions 45 and 46 are bolte or otherwise secured together. The guideways 44 are formed in the up'permemr 45 and arranged radially with respect.

to the cylinder shaft. Across the top of the guideways 44 the housings 48 are secured by bolts 47 and contain the springs 49 which cooperate with the roll bearing boxes 43 to press down on the rolls.' For-raising said rolls, a roller 50 surrounds the end portion of the boxes 43 and contacts with the cam 51, which .latter is pivoted to the end frames at .52. The cam 51 is provided with a large central opening, as shown in Fig. 6, whereby a supply of air for the gas burner within the cylinder is facilitated, and the pressure of the springs 49 and rolls 13, 14 and 15 is it not borne by the cylinder shaft but is transmitted tofthe frame of'the machine at the a pivot 52, independently of. the cylinderbeari 01 operating the cams 51, rods 53 adjacent each end frame 10 connect the cams jection 62 on the foot with the levers 54, which are pivoted to the end frames at 55 and rovided adjacent their 54 exten mg the greater part of the length of the machine between the end frames. The foot board 56 is pivoted at 57- to the outer end portions of the levers 54 or connecting piece 54; Thelatch 58' is pivoted to the.

cross bar 59 about midway between the end a shoulder portion 60 adapted to enga 7 e the lug 6l on theconnectin piece 54. -prooard 56 is adapte -'.to disengage the latch and allow the levers 54 to rise when the foot board 'is moved about its pivot 57. A counterweight62 keeps the latch in position ready to engage a the lug 61 when the pedal is moved downwardly the next time to raise the'feed rolls 3 is to 15.-

Between each of the roll gears 38, 39 and :40, and the roll shafts 41 is a flexible coupling commonly lmewn as an Oldham coupling,

which comprises a disk 63 provided on one side, a'rib 64 adapted to slide in the face of the end member-64 on the roll shaft, and said disk 63 is provided on its opposite The bearings 42- for the ironing.

68 of the machlne frame.

side witlia rib at right angles to the rib 64, which rib 65 is adapted to slide within a is the crank 69 carryin in its outer end the locking pin 70 adapte to engage either of the recesses 71 or 72 formed in the portion A knob 75 provides a convenient handle for controlling the pin 7 Oand turning the crank 69 to raise or lower each roll driving ear 38, 39 or 40 from or into mesh with t e cylinder gear 27. As' shown in Fig. 2, the pin 70 may extend 'into the knob 75, and the spring 70, co-

operating with the crank 69 and a shoulder on the pin serve to press the pin intoits recess except when the knob 75 is moved to compress the spring 7 0. One of the recesses 71, is located so that when engaged by the pin the roll driving gear is properly in mesh recess 72, is arranged to contain pin 70 when the roll driving gear has been raised out of engagement with the driving gear 27.

-With the cylinder gear 27, while the other .The portion of the frame 68 is an extension plate which is held in position by the bushings 76, through which extend bolts, or other means 77 for securing the portion 68 to the upper frame member 45. Enclosing the roll driving gears 38, 39 and 40, as well as the upper portion of the cylinder gears 27- and 28, is the housing 79 carried by bolts 80 or other means for securing the sameto the" frame. The lower-portion of the gears 27 and 28, the gear 20, and the worm l9 are' enclosed in the lower housing 81, similarly secured to the frame.

Oneach rollshaft 41'are end castings 82 secured by th the roll shaft 41 and carrying the drum 82*, on which is wound the padding 83 between the flanges 83", which serve to protect the ends of the padding. The cylinder shaft 31 is provided with a plurality of spokes 84 which are spaced apart to provide-sufiicient V pins 83, or other means, to

air passage to the gas burner inside the cylinder and have the cylinder shrunk over them and fastened bypins 85 or other means. Ex tending through the cylinder. isthe-fuel suppllyj pipe 86, provided with openin s .87 from oh the jetsof flame extend. elow the cylinderis arranged'a tray 88 of suitable= size to hold the goods which have passed- ,through the ironen; As a 'safety'means,-to

revent the. o rators -fingers being caught tween the to sand cylinder, the guard rod 89 extends between the end frames in the position indicated. 1, I I

In operation the motor 16 is started and erators hands free to guide the work. When it is desired to'raise the rolls, the operators foot presses down on the board 56, which moves the cam 51 and simultaneously raises each padded roll. Upon release of the pedal the springs 49 are effective to move the cam about its pivot and raise the pedal. As the rolls are raised and lowered by the cam, the 16 driving gears 38, 39 and 40 are not moved, but the change in alinement between these gears and the roll shafts is taken care of in the Oldham 0011 lin which permits each roll shaft to be ispl aced from the axis of 20 its driving gear, andstill have the gear effective to drive the roll. In this manner, means are provided for raising and lowering each roll without changing the position of the roll driving gear whereby the rolls are driven in raised position to prevent any likelihood of scorching. At the time of changing the padding on the roll, and in unwinding the 'same it is desirable that the other rolls shall not be reversed and have their padding loosened, which would be the case were there no meansto disengage the roll driving gear from the cylinder gear 27, since reversing one padded roll in unwinding would necessarily reverse the other padded rolls if their gears were likewise in mesh with the driving gear 27. Therefore, in order to prevent such an occurrence the eccentric stud 67 is rotated by means of the knob 75, so as to raise one onmore of the roll ears from mesh with the driving gear 27. ts ability to disconnect, or drive each padded roll independently of its position possesses another advantage when ironing delicate fabrics, at which time it may not be -15 desired to stretch the ends, as is commonly done, but rather to permit each of the rolls to be frictionally driven by "the cylinder without stretching the fabric being ironed, Among the advantages of this invention may be mentioned the ability to have each of the padded rollscontinue in rotation when raised from the heated cylinder, whereby local scorching is prevented. So also in re moving the padding from one roll it is pos- .55 sible to disengage that roll driving gear from the cylinder gear, and, therefore, avoid reversing any of the other feed rolls and consequently avoid loosening the padding on such other rolls. The ability of the feed rolls to be disengaged, or not, from the driving gear 27 in either raised or lowered position, provides means for either stretching or not stretching the goods as the same are fed through the machine, since, as was previously stated, each roll when positively ing a sufficient supply of airto the driven has a peripheral speed slightly greater than the preceding roll. The control of the feed rolls, by means of a pedal enables the operators hands to be left free to guide the work through the machine without requiring the operator to use one of his hands to control the feed rolls. The means for connecting and disconnecting each feed roll driving gear is outside the gear housing whereeasily accessible and without requir ing the operator to insert his hand inside the machine. The rovision of springs 49,

which are suflicient y strong to move the cam does away with the use of any additional spring for raising the pedal. Another advantage is the use of driving gears 27 and 28, and cam 51 which are provided with substantial openings ,therethrou h to permit the supply of a sufiicient quantity of air to the burners within the cylinder 11, and in the same manner the 'end frames 10 and the spokes 84 willbe made sufliciently open to provide such ventilation. Besides insuras burner the cams are mounted eccentrica ly of the cylinder shaft so that the force of the springs in raisin the padded rolls is not transmitted to the cy inder shaft or its bearing s. The first padded roll 13 has a peripheral speed slightly greater than that of the cylinder and since each succeeding roll moves a little faster the material in being ironedis stretched slightly. The padding on each roll comprises a light canvas or other sheet fabric wound around the roll a number of times, and preferably depending onthe di-' rection of rotation of the feed roll to keep iitwound tight. The arrangement of a plurality of padded rolls above the heated cylinder allows the steam to escape fro the article being ironed so that it is not cabsorbed by that article or by the padded rolls,

which makes for I claim: 1.' In an ironing machine, the combination with a heated surface, of a pair of padded rolls for cooperation therewith, means for separating said rolls from the heated surface and rotating themwhile separated, and means for separately'disconnecting the rolls quicker and faster ironing.

from said rotating means while out of cooperation with the heated surface.

2. In an ironing machine, the combination with a heated cylinder, of a padded roll for cooperation therewith, a driving gear connected to the cylinder, a driven gear connected with said roll, means for separating the padded roll fromcooperation with thecylinder, and means for moving the driven gear in and out of enga ementwith' the driving gear irrespective o the relative position of the padded'iroll and cylinder. 1

3. In an ironing machine, the combination with a heated cylinder, of a padded roll for for cooperation therewith, a. transmission III mechanism between said cylinder and roll' rounding said transmission mechanism,- and means outside said housing to move said gear.

4. In an ironing machine, the combination with a heated cylinder, of a padded roll, driving and driven gears for the roll, mechanism for separating thecylinder and roll and for separating thedriving and driven gears, said mechanism including means for reducing the clash of said gearson engaging, which comprises means for first contacting the roll and cylinder to frictionally drive means for drivin the roll from thecylinder and rotate the roll gear at about the driving gear speed, and means for then engaging said gears.

5. In an ironing machine, the combination with a heated cylinder, of a plurality of padded rolls for cooperation therewith, the heated cylinder, a gear for driving each padded 7 roll, means for moving each gear out of driving engagement with s'aidcylinder driving, means, and a pedal controlled mechanism for raising all of said rolls above the heated cylinder irrespective of the position of each gear.

6. An ironingmachine comprising in combination a cylinder, a feed roll engaging the same, driving means for said feed rol means for separatingthe roll from the cylinder, means normally holding said separatin .means in inoperative position, and contro means for said separating means comprisin a lever, a connection between. said lever an said separating means, a latch engaging said lever to hold said separating means in o'perative position, thereby holding the feed roll from the cylinder, and means slidable along said latch to moveit out of engagement with said lever. a

7. In anironing machine, the combination with a heated surface, of a plurality of padded rolls for co-operationtherewith,

'drivingmeans for the rolls, means to separate the rolls from the heated surface without moving said driving means and to rotate such rolls when in contact with or separated from said surface, and means to connect or disconnect any one of saidrolls and its driving means in any position thereof and pendgiitly ofthe other rolls.

therewith, a roll; driving member, a driven member engaged by sa-id drlvm-g member, an

Oldham coupling connectedv between said i'oll and said drivenflmember, and means for movmg said driven member out of enindelroning machine comprising a heated surface, a padded roll cooperating ed surface, a padded roll cooperating therewith, means for moving said roll toward and away from said heated surface, a driving gear, a driven gear engaged by said driving gear, and means including an Oldham coupling connected between said roll and saiddriven gear for moving said driven gear out of engagement wlth said driving gear many position of said roll.

10. An ironing machine comprising a heated surface, a padded roll for engagement therewith, a driving gear, a driven gear engaged by said driving gear, means for moving said driven gear toward and away from said driving gear in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said roll, and an Oldham coupling between said roll and said driven 11. An ironing machine comprising a heated surface, a padded roll for engage ment therewith, a driving gear, a driven ear engaged 'by said drivmg gear, means ior moving said roll toward and away from said heated surface, anOldham coupling connecting said roll and said driven gear whereby said roll may be rotated in either the raised or lowered position, and means for moving said driven gear toward and away from said driving gear in a plane perpendicularto the axis of said roll when said tion. I a p a 12. An. ironing machine comprising a heatedcylinder, a padded roll cooperating therewith, means for driving said heated cylinder, a gear rotatable with said heated cylinder, means for driving said padded roll including a second gear cooperating with roll is in either the raised or lowered posisaid first mentioned gear and an Oldham coupling connecting said second gear to said padded roll, and, an eccentrically mounted bearing for moving said second gear out of engagement with said first mentioned gear.

13. An ironing machine comprising a heated cylinder, a gear rotatable therewith,

a plurality ofpadded rolls cooperating with said heated cylinder, a driven gear for each of said padded rolls arranged to mesh with said first mentioned gear, a bearing including an eccentric stud for each of said' driven gears, means for rotating each stud to raise or lower its gear independently of the other driven gears, means for raising and lowering-the padded rolls from said cylinder, and an Oldham coupling between each padded roll and its associated driven gear.

14. An ironing machine comprising a heated -surface,a padded roll for engagement therewith, means for rotating said roll, an Oldham coupling connected between said rolland said rotating means, a pedal actuat ed member for separatingsaid roll and surface, a spring arranged to cause engagement of said rolland surface on release of said pedal actuated member, and means including said Oldham cou ling to connect or disconnect said roll and rotating means in any position thereof. a

15. In an ironing machine, the combination with a heated cylinder, of a padded roll -for cooperation therewith, a driving gear connected to the cylinder,- a driven gear connected with said r011, means for separating the padded roll from cooperation with the cylinder; and means for raising and lower- 10 ingvthe driven gear out of and into engagement with the driving gear irrespective of the relative position of the padded roll and cylinder. Signed Dutchess and State of New York this 23rd day of June, 1923'.

ROBERT HOE,

at Poughkeepsie in the county of 15 

